The U. S. economy helps people get ahead

As I read yet another article finding fault with America’s ongoing 11- year economic expansion ( July 7, “Why Wealth Gap has Grown Despite RecordLong Economic Growth”), I would like to offer some additional points for consideration.

1.) Is the reason that this may be the “least- celebrated economic recovery in decades” due to the first eight or nine years of the expansion exhibiting the slowest post- recession recovery in history? What has changed in the past several years is a dramatic reduction in the level of government burden on the economy; thus the economy has accelerated dramatically.

2.) Does the point that this recovery has accrued more to the wealthiest Americans over the past decade ignore the fact that the “income and wealth distribution” groups are in a constant state of flux, with millions of people moving into and out of these groups? In other words, many in the lower and middle groups move up over time and many in the upper group drop down over time — there may be growing disparity but the groups are changing constantly.

3.) The woman presented in the article as an example of hardship states that she is 37 years old, and has struggled financially since graduating college in 2007, while living in Los Angeles. This tells us that she graduated at the age of 25 ( 7 years of college?) and lives in one of the highest- cost/ highest tax- states in the nation. Has this woman made some poor choices in the past that have resulted in her present financial stress? Life is tough, and tougher for some than others. We get it, but the world is full of people who get up every day and take personal responsibility for their own lives in the face of hardship — America is a great place to get ahead.

KARL KIMMICH

Richland